Ireland: Education: Paying the price for a bog standard comp

When faced with the problems her son was enduring at his local inner-city state school, Jane Dugdale had no option but to go private

This time last year I was at the end of my tether. My son Sam was 13 and in the second year at a London comprehensive. He’d enjoyed the “novelty” of his first year and had come top in most subjects. But now it was all going wrong.

Sam, a bright boy, had stopped doing his homework. He wanted to fit in with the “rude” boys, who were scarier than him. Girls did their homework. Boys didn’t.

My misgivings mounted as each week passed. The teachers’ expectations seemed so low. I was aghast when I saw my son’s maths results, for instance. But all the teacher said was, “It’s a good pass, 65%.”

Children were taught in mixed-ability classes for three years. Girls who had published poetry mingled with those who fumbled with English as a second language; native Spanish speakers shared hand-outs with those who could hardly read English.